The 58th anniversary of Israel's independence drew members of the Jewish community to Skygate Park near City Hall yesterday to celebrate with kosher refreshments, traditional folk dancing, games and informational booths.

The annual celebration offers Jews of various congregations and political leanings the opportunity to unite for a common interest: Israel.

And, as Kaimuki resident Allone Barzilay pointed out, it is also a time for fun. "It's the thing to do," he said. "We have to celebrate."

Estimates of the number of practicing Jews in Hawai'i range from 4,000 to 10,000, and the number of people who consider themselves Jewish by ethnicity rather than religion probably pushes the number into the tens of thousands, according to several local Jewish organizations.

Sandra Armstrong, a board member of Jewish Community Services, and head of a welcome wagon for newly arrived Jews, said these kinds of events are important for members of the community to meet, reunite and learn about services.

"There's a tremendous amount of Jewish people here who are not connected," she said.

Yesterday's event allowed people who had not seen one another since school to reacquaint themselves and strangers to make new friends, Armstrong said.

It also offered an opportunity to learn about various organizations that help the elderly; fight for Jewish women's issues; offer educational services, from Hebrew school to Israeli folk dancing; and sell products from Israel and kosher food items — goods that can be hard to come by without knowing where to look.

Many kosher foods were available for purchase yesterday: a barbecue booth featured beef or vegetarian hot dogs, another sold falafel (a Middle Eastern specialty made with ground chickpeas) and others had Turkish coffee and pastries.

Over at the Hadassah booth, representing the largest worldwide women's Zionist organization, the Hawai'i chapter offered information on a number of things, including how they can plant a tree in Israel, both to reforest the land and to honor a loved one.

"It's a wonderful way to memorialize a person," said Harriet Weissman, a Hadassah volunteer.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.